Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
According to the annual National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans by Mercer employers expect the rate of growth in the per-employee cost of coverage to rebound in 2014. View the infographic below for a summary of the findings.
The process of assessing and diagnosing mental health issues in a potential employee is complicated. Certain questions can offer valuable information about an individual’s behavior and reactions to work situations.
On June 26, 2014, the U.S Supreme Court unanimously upheld the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Noel Canning v. NLRB, concluding that President Barack Obama’s three recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—Sharon Block, Richard Griffin, and Terence Flynn—were not valid. Accordingly, since three out of the […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has extended the deadline for contributing entities (or entities reporting on their behalf) to submit annual enrollment counts on which they will base their contribution amounts under health care reform’s transitional reinsurance program. The deadline is now 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 5, 2014. Reporting on that date also […]
Are you “MySpacing” and “Facebooking” your applicants? Employers are wondering whether reference checking should include visiting Web 2.0 “relationship” pages. Alas, the advice is mixed. Should your reference checks on job applicants include looking at their “relationship” Web pages, such as those found on “Facebook” or “MySpace”? Some experts say yes. It’s your job to […]
If you file the Form 5500, you know what an odious exercise that can be. And you’d better get it right. Not only is the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) examining the form you file — so is the IRS. The DOL wants the forms to be complete and accurate, of course, […]
As the economy stagnates, many employers who were hoping to avoid layoffs must now finally consider them. Today’s expert, attorney Michael Rosen, sorts out the key issues. Rosen, a labor and employment partner with the law firm Foley Hoag LLP in Boston, says that any reduction in force (RIF) must be carefully planned and executed […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued the final rule for pension and 401(k) plan fee disclosures on Feb. 2. The announcement was jointly made with the U.S. Department of Treasury, which issued a proposal at the same time to reduce regulatory burdens on retirement incomes. Secretary of Labor Hilda […]
As noted in this earlier blog post, the IRS and Treasury Department recently issued proposed rules that they hope will better define governmental plan status. They’ve been seeking comments from the governmental plan community and now have scheduled public hearings on the matter on July 9 and 10. Both public hearings will take place 10 […]